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July 15, 20255 min read

White Is Never Just White: A Detailed Analysis

Here's something most repairers don't realise:

You could be losing hundreds of thousands in profit every year — just because you're quoting paint jobs without factoring in the real cost of each colour.

Sounds crazy, right? But it happens all the time. Even the most experienced estimators get caught out, because some colours cost way more than others, even if they look nearly identical.

The Numbers Don't Lie

Not convinced? Well… at PaintWizz, we've analysed over 7,000 real-world paint formulas and found that the cost of materials can vary by up to 92%. That's not a small discrepancy — it's a serious margin killer.

Let's look at this example from popular Toyota colours:

ColourLabourMaterialTotal% Increase
1G3 – Magnetic Grey MetallicR5,501R5,369R10,870
040 – Glacier WhiteR5,501R5,726R11,227+7%
4R8 – Inferno Metallic OrangeR5,501R6,939R12,440+29%
089 – Platinum White PearlR6,420R10,315R16,736+92%

The difference in total cost between these colours for an average repair job? As much as 92% or R5,866.

But here's the real kicker… On the Platinum White Pearl job, materials make up 62% of the total cost — a huge portion that's often underestimated or overlooked.

The Real Impact on Your Business

Now… Let's say your shop handles just 5 paint jobs per day, over 48 working weeks in a year. That's 1,200 jobs annually.

If you're quoting every job using an "average" material price, and under quoting high-cost colours by just R1,000 each time (a highly conservative figure), you could be losing R1,200,000 in annual profits — just from under quoting paint!!

The good news…

Using PaintWizz for all your repairs, will ensure you're fairly compensated for every paint repair job, potentially saving you thousands. It's a no brainer.

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